A Multi-Analytical Investigation of the Hydrogel Phase

In this thesis are discussed aspects in which certain chemical and physical behaviour of relevance to abiogenesis, the origins of life, changes when compared between the aqueous phase and a mineral hydrogel phase. The significance of this work is based on observations that the cytosolic medium within all biological cells is better thought of as a hydrogel rather than aqueous.
Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of interest to this work, discusses hydrogels, their synthesis, properties and especially their potential role in abiogenesis. Also discussed are the concepts of amphiphilic self-assembly which is an important process examined in this thesis, and then concludes with some discussion of the analytical techniques used within the project.
Chapter 2 describes the surface analysis of two different concentrations of silica hydrogels along with methods for isolating the silica matrix and surface analyses using electron microscopy (SEM) and associated techniques (BET, EDX).
Chapter 3 outlines critical micelle concentration (CMC) measurements of the model amphiphile, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in both the aqueous and silica hydrogel phases in the presence of various salts. Included in this salt list are simulated seawater, NaCl, Na2CO3, Na2HPO4, Na2SiO3, Na2SO4 and MgCl2. Colorimetric methods were used employing a colorimetric reporter dye (pinacyanol chloride) by UV-Vis spectrophotometry.
Chapter 4 outlines related CMC measurements of SDS-alcohol mixtures (C2-OH, C6-OH, C8-OH, C10-OH, C12-OH) again in both the aqueous and silica hydrogel phase using the same method.
Chapter 5 Outlines the possibility of vesicle formation of SDS-Alcoholic composites in Silica Hydrogels.
Chapter 6 examines the use of two different methods to explore the gelation process within silica hydrogels and any influence of inorganic and organic additives by UV-Vis light scattering, and turbidity meter measurements.
Chapter 7 contains experimental details and sample preparation from Chapters 2 to Chapter 6.
Chapter 8 offers a summary, conclusion, and future work perspective on the studies reported in this thesis.